Junk Food Creates Drug-Like Addiction

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Junk Food Creates Drug-Like Addiction

A new study was published in the journal, Neuropsychopharmacology found that the saturated fats had a similar effect on our brains as drugs. The more saturated fat we eat, the less we enjoy it…and the more we crave it in order to get the same “high.” The scientists studied rats which are used for experimentation because their genetic, biological and behavior characteristics resemble those of humans. One group was fed a low-fat diet with equal amounts of monounsaturated fat derived from palm oil and the third was a diet high in saturated fat. 

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6 Food Scraps You Shouldn't Throw Away

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6 Food Scraps You Shouldn't Throw Away

We invest a lot of money in our fresh fruits and vegetables and overall produce purchases each week. When preparing these items, we often throw away half of the apple or other weird parts on the product themselves and discard before cooking. The truth is you aren't just tossing a few dollars in the garbage, but you're also throwing away some serious nutritional benefits. 

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Health Tip: Evaluate Your Beverage Diet

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Health Tip: Evaluate Your Beverage Diet

Our liquid diet is often an aspect of our eating habits we overlook, thinking that it's not affecting our overall health that much. Well that's the wrong approach. The majority of Americans are not aware or fully engaged in their drinking habits but they actually have a profound effect on our health. Many nutritionists refer to these drinks as "sugar-sweetened beverages" that most people don't think are sweetened. 

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What is food poisoning?

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What is food poisoning?

Food poisoning occurs when a person eats food that is contaminated with infected with bacteria, parasites, or viruses. It is also known as a food-borne illness. Food can become contaminated rather easily such as when processing it, producing it, handling it, or cooking it. Therefore, it is very important to handle and prepare food correctly. It is the toxins within the infectious organisms that contaminate the food.

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The Truth About Bread

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The Truth About Bread

No bread, no problem, right? Does this sound familiar? "I want to lose weight, so I'll stop eating bread." Sounds simple enough, sign me up. Well let's explore this. Many people are under so many misnomers about bread. the low-carb craze is going strong —pasta is overrated and bread is on its way out. But we cannot lump all grains into the same category. The effects on the body are vastly different when cutting say refined grains from your diet compared to whole grains. Here's why. 

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Coconut Vinegar is the New Vinegar

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Coconut Vinegar is the New Vinegar

We recently touched on the health benefits of coconut oil, which helps from everything to regulating our blood sugar levels to weight loss. The fats from coconut have special fat compounds called medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) that have been shown to help the liver burn fat. So, to take the coconut trend even further, enter coconut vinegar. 

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Eat Vitamin C for a Long Life

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Eat Vitamin C for a Long Life

Vitamin C is arguably the best known vitamin but many people misunderstood its value and the daily amount. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that should be included as part of your daily diet. And luckily, as a water-soluble vitamin, too much won't hurt you. Vitamin C helps modify precursor proteins in order for collagen production. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body. It is used to make and strengthen skin cartilage, tendons, ligaments, bones and teeth. Vitamin C also acts as one of the main antioxidants in the body. It protects cells from potentially damaging by-products. 

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It's Berry Season: Go Wild Eating Your Favorites

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It's Berry Season: Go Wild Eating Your Favorites

Berries are extremely high in vitamin C, high in fiber, and low in calories.  Vitamin C is important to helping our body reduce tension and boost the immune system. Fiber helps to regulate our blood sugar levels.  Regulating blood sugar levels is important because drastic changes in our blood sugar can cause us to have mood swings, which may contribute to anxiety.

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Dining Out vs. Fast Food

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Dining Out vs. Fast Food

About 1/3 of all Americans eat and drink their calories away from home.  Fortunately, slowly but surely many restaurants are beginning to offer healthier, lower calorie menu items, making it easier to eat nutritious while traveling.  Another thing that will help is by the end of 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will require calorie and other nutrition labeling for standard menu items in all restaurant chains with 20 or more locations.  Many of these restaurants have already complied with this ruling.  

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4 Healthy Fats For Losing Weight

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4 Healthy Fats For Losing Weight

Firstly, let’s briefly touch on the unhealthy dietary fats: saturated fat and trans fat.  These fats are commonly found in animal food sources.  Saturated fat raises blood cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad” cholesterol) and can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes.  Trans fats are most often a result of food processing and are often referred to as synthetic or industrial.  Synthetic trans fats can increase LDL and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good” cholesterol), thus increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease.

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Coffee Not Linked to Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

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Coffee Not Linked to Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

There has been so much about coffee in the news these past few months. A number of significant studies have look at its effects on reducing everything from heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Now a new study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology found that regularly drinking coffee doesn't increase the chance of developing type 2 diabetes and obesity. Here's what you need to know. 

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The good, the bad and everything else you want to know about 6 popular diets

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The good, the bad and everything else you want to know about 6 popular diets

When we say the word “diet” what exactly do we mean?  Most of us associate the word with “trying to lose weight.”  But the actual definition of the word diet means “the food and beverages a person usually eats and drinks.”  So if we all agree that we eat and drink something every day, then aren’t we all on a “diet?” My point is that all of us are on a diet or a way of eating and it’s best to strive to make your diet meet your own individual nutrient needs keeping you as healthy as possible.

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7 Snacks to Avoid At All Costs

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7 Snacks to Avoid At All Costs

The truth is what you snack on in between meals goes a long way, especially in keeping your metabolism burning. If you have a regular exercise routine, it can also help continue to tone your muscles throughout the day. But oftentimes, snack time gets mistaken for a time to treat yourself, but that can lead to unwanted weight gain. Here's 7 snacks to avoid at all costs. 

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Here's how important Vitamin B12 is

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Here's how important Vitamin B12 is

This type of deficiency causes anemia in the body, which means the body doesn't have enough red blood cells. Certain conditions include Crohn's disease, celiac disease, pernicious anemia, alcoholism and make it hard for the body to absorb enough of the vitamin. Lack of this essential vitamin can cause fatigue, and even in some severe cases paralysis and nerve damage.  Treatment with a balanced diet or B12 supplements or shots brings levels back to normal.

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Americans Are Not Eating Enough Fruits + Veggies

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Americans Are Not Eating Enough Fruits + Veggies

Let's start with why we eat fruits and vegetables. These nutrient-rich foods are truly good for you in every way and they nourish the body in a natural way. Fruits and vegetables actually protect the body from developing chronic disease, fighting inflammation, and low energy. But now a new report shows that only 13% of Americans actually eat enough produce. 

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What Really Happens When You're Drunk

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What Really Happens When You're Drunk

Two out of every three American adults drink alcoholic beverages and nearly 17.6 million of them have alcohol issues or have become alcoholics. Also called ethanol intoxication, acute alcohol intoxication, alcohol poisoning, occurs after one drinks enough alcohol to change your behavior and impair your physical and mental abilities. Symptoms include impaired judgment and coordination, slurred speech, blurred vision, trouble concentrating or other cognitive issues as well as a slower reaction time or drowsiness.

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Best foods for brain health

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Best foods for brain health

1.    Green leafy vegetables. Green leafy vegetables are rich in folate. Low folate levels have been linked to depression. Good sources of folate include lettuce, spinach, kale, asparagus, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, celery, and cabbage. Other good sources of folate include beets, pinto beans, black beans, navy beans, papaya, strawberries, and bell peppers.

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Can a diet that mimics fasting really be good for us?

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Can a diet that mimics fasting really be good for us?

According to a study published in Cell Metabolism, a fasting mimicking diet can actually reduce your risk factors for aging, cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.  This is not the first study to broach the concept of intermittent fasting and its potential benefits to our health.  We’ve heard that cutting calories could be the secret for healthy weight loss and body detox, but according to the study it isn’t skipping meals that is the answer here.

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5 High-Protein Veggies for Every Meal

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5 High-Protein Veggies for Every Meal

Today is National Eat Your Vegetable Day. Vegetables should be the cornerstone of every meal you eat. Filling half of your plate with veggies is one of the key ways you can get your daily intake, stay full and keep your weight at bay. But which veggies are a lot fiber which helps keep you fuller longer, curbing your appetite? Let's explore.

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Taming the “Sugar Monster” in all of us

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Taming the “Sugar Monster” in all of us

There is probably no other food ingredient people feel so passionate about as sugar.  Food manufacturers know this as since the mid-1990’s, over 600 new food products  have been introduced, most of which are candy and sweet snacks.  Even songs have been written about sugar – think of “Brown Sugar” by the Rolling Stones, “Sugar, Sugar” by the Archies or “Sugartime” sung by Johnny Cash, just to name a few.  

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